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Sicilian cuisine

Arancini are usually filled with ragù (meat sauce), tomato sauce, mozzarella, and/or peas. There are a number of local variants that differ in fillings and shape. The name derives from the food’s shape and colour, which is reminiscent of an orange (the Italian word for orange is arancia, and arancina means little orange).

Since the Spanish dominion brought the new ingredient to Modica, Sicily, chocolate has been a favourite addition to Sicilian dishes. Since then, the Modicans have become known for their high-quality chocolate which is often used it in savoury dishes such as rabbit ragù and mince pastries. In this lasagne, the chocolate paired with the cinnamon gives a slight sweetness to the mince and adds a velvety shine.

Sicilian cuisine shows traces of all the cultures which established themselves on the island of Sicily over the last two millennia. Although its cuisine is predominantly based on Italian cuisine, Sicilian food also has Spanish, Greek and Arab influences. The use of apricots, sugar, citrus, sweet melons, rice, saffron, raisins, nutmeg, clove, pepper, pine nuts, cinnamon (along with fried preparations) is a sign of Arab influences from the Arab domination of Sicily in the 10th and 11th centuries.